Blu-ray Review: Saskia Rosendahl Delivers Stunning Debut in ‘Lore’

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CHICAGO – From the moment young Lore (Saskia Rosendahl) rises from her bath to witness the long-awaited return of her father, thrusting herself in front of a window as the curtains become pasted to her still-moist back, Cate Shortland’s Holocaust-era drama is conspicuously awash in sensuality. The age of its titular heroine was changed from 12 (in Rachel Seiffert’s award-winning book, “The Dark Room”) to 14 in order for the filmmakers to explore her budding sexuality.

Though the picture contains no sex and minimal nudity, it is enormously preoccupied with the conflicting impulses of its increasingly headstrong German youth, whose body yearns for a smitten concentration camp survivor, Thomas (Kai Malina of “The White Ribbon”), even as her mind violently resists him. This premise could’ve easily deteriorated into a contrived soap opera, but the characters crafted by Shortland and her co-screenwriter Robin Mukherjee are more complex than they may initially seem. Like Stephen Daldry’s more explicit (and problematic) “The Reader,” “Lore” parallels a sexual awakening with the awakening of a generation to the horrific lies perpetuated by their elders.

Blu-ray Rating: 4.0/5.0

Cinematographer Adam Arkapaw (“Animal Kingdom”) does an effective job of depicting a world in mourning drained of life and vitality, as Lore suddenly finds herself cast adrift by her disgraced Nazi parents, Vati (Hans-Jochen Wagner) and Mutti (Ursina Lardi, also from “White Ribbon”), who are reeling from the death of Hitler. With her four younger siblings in tow, Lore is forced to journey hundreds of treacherous miles to her grandmother’s house while evading the gaze of Allied Forces. With his hardened expression of male aggression, Thomas initially comes off as a sinister figure, pinning Lore against the wall like a sleazy rapist only to have his advances ably defeated. Eventually, Thomas redeems himself by utilizing his Jewish papers to get Lore and her family out of a sticky situation. He quickly emerges as their protector and—in scenes of simmering erotic tension—Lore’s potential lover, though her disgust at his identity causes their mutual attraction to remain unconsummated. This is not a love story so much as it is a story of growth and survival in a bleak wasteland of near-post-apocalyptic proportions. Lore’s silent discovery of a mutilated corpse is undeniably eerie, but it appears to have been lifted directly from Hitchcock’s “The Birds.”

Lore was released on Blu-ray and DVD on May 28th, 2013.
Photo credit: Music Box Films

The film’s most glaring shortcoming is its tendency to flirt with melodramatic stylistics, such as its distracting use of slow motion and Max Richter’s occasionally overbearing score. Yet those quibbles barely register whenever Rosendahl is front and center. Bearing an uncanny resemblance to Michelle Williams, the 17-year-old dancer-turned-actress is a flat-out revelation in her first film role. She somehow manages to light up the screen without toning down her character’s rugged desperation or inherited prejudice. Equally impressive is Nele Trebs as Lore’s sister, Leisel, who broke my heart in a single take. When she realizes that Lore is no longer able to enjoy the simple pleasures of life, the camera rests on Trebs’s face as innocence and serenity are overtaken by tearful bewilderment. Sometimes it’s the subtle moments of an impeccably pitched performance that take your breath away.

“Lore” is presented in 1080p High Definition (with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio) and includes a fine assortment of extras. A 16-minute featurette includes footage of Rosendahl’s fiery audition, while a compilation of deleted scenes is accompanied by an intriguing yet unsatisfactory alternate ending. Critic Stephen Farber is joined by Goethe Institute director Fareed Majari and Jewish Journal for Greater Los Angeles contributing editor Tom Tugend for a 14-minute panel discussion in which they divulge their provocative interpretations regarding a key character’s backstory. Best of all is a 10-minute interview with a former “German girl,” Angela Greiner, recorded a mere three months ago by Chicago’s own Southport Music Box Corporation. Her emotional reminiscences of the period offer remarkable insight into the significance of fleeting details, such as Vati’s rather perplexing decision to stamp out a cigarette on his floor. Once again, Music Box has done a superlative job of giving an acclaimed foreign gem the comprehensive release it deserves.

By MATT FAGERHOLM Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com matt@hollywoodchicago.com